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Dannis LeMort
Dannis LeMort, known as the Black Dragon and the Black Knight of Gideon, was the destroyer of the Brighton line and the tyrant behind the Great War. His defeat led to a new age in Gideon and the colloquially known "Curse of the Dragon". ---- History Dannis LeMort was the eldest son of a lesser noble family that had ruled Silverfell since its inception. At the age of 13, Dannis befriended Alarik Brighton at a tournament in Nord, after arranging a pretend joust together among the noble children who were not old enough to participate in the real one. The two became fast friends, and an agreement was struck for the monarchs to foster the boy (most likely influenced by the vast amount of wealth the Silverfell mines bring to the crown). After Alarik's older brother came down with a sickness and passed away, Alarik was made the heir to Gideon, and Dannis' rise was arrow swift. When Alarik ascended to the thrown, Dannis was made Castillian of the capital. It was said that Alarik did not want to be bothered much with ruling, and would do whatever his advisers told him. As such, Dannis' position became extremely powerful. It was Dannis who decided that they needed to redirect a significant portion of their funds to bolster their army. It was Dannis who suggested a marriage pact between Alarik and his cousin Rhea, in exchange for a large dowry of his families silver; and when the couple went years without producing children, rumors even spread that Dannis had so much influence over Alarik, that they were secretly having an extramarital affair, These rumors were not helped by the fact that Dannis LeMort had never take a wife of his own, despite clearly being an eligible bachelor. However, the real reason for this was eventually revealed when Alarik did start having children. Alarik Brighton became the first Brighton in the families history to not produce a male heir. After having three daughters, his wife became barren. Distressed due to the pressure associated with ending the family line, Dannis proposed a solution. He would marry Brighton's eldest daughter Ava, and if they produced a male offspring, he would give it the Brighton surname. Alarik ecstatically agreed and was overjoyed at the fact that he would not have to struggle with the anxiety anymore and could go back to his life of doing nothing. Shortly after the wedding, Alarik was found dead in his bed, and Dannis' true intentions were revealed. ---- The Great War Having the full weight of the Brighton regency under his control, Dannis LeMort changed his crest to that of the family he had just inherited. However, instead of a dragon made of radiant fire, he took on one made of dark shadows and cold. Almost overnight, the entire demeanor of Dawn's Edge changed. The new King started dressing differently, wearing black robes with cloaks and hoods to cover his newly corrupted eyes. About a month after ascending to the thrown, he called his banners to prepare for war. Though some resisted, many in the realm were thrilled to have such a strong leader and spoiling for a fight after years of serving under "Alarik the Pink", as they now called him. House Drake was the first to show support for a war effort, standing true to their family's motto. House Byron was next, with moral objections to the war, but under pressure to uphold their oath and not be outdone by the other houses. After that it was House Thorne, and the whole realm was practically in on it. Their target: the Omoron Dominion. Emporer Dannis LeMort (as he was now calling himself) claimed that since House Terminus were originally knights of Gideon, they had no right to branch off and start their own country (despite the action taking place hundreds of years ago and the matter being completely authorized by the previous Brighton kings). He claimed this gave him the right to the Omoron lands. An invasion was mounted on the Great Plains, and soon it was full fledged war. It would later be revealed that all of this had been in the works for decades before the first sword was swung in battle. As a child, Dannis was incredibly frustrated with his families noble status. His ambitions were so large that they cried out across the realm. They were heard by the demoness Shaktiri. Together, they devised a plan for him to gain his power. It was Shaktiri who told Dannis to befriend the younger weak willed Brighton, instead of the older more assertive child. It was Shaktiri who later poisoned him and made it appear that he came down with illness. It was Shaktiri in cahoots with Dannis and his cousin who ensured that the line would not have a male heir through dark sorcery (its like, they just cast the polymorph spell). What did Shaktiri get out of it? War. Chaos on the material plain, which allowed her to bring forth hordes of demons to augment his army without anyone taking much notice. (Note: Under the distractions of war she was also able to pursue her ulterior agenda of searching for the apotheosis book, a venture that would be unsuccessful as the Demogorgon had learned of her plans and beat her to the punch. This would be remedied years later.) However, once the demons were discovered in the Gideon army... it was a different story. After two thirds of Omoron and a third of Korth were conquered by LeMort, Commissar Bishop Terminus realized that the only way he was going to defend his ancestral homeland was to fight fire with fire. Terminus made a pact with the Pit Fiend Kurnaz, to exchange his soul for secret legionnaires of devils to fight the demons. The devils were not only capable combatants, but they were more clever than Terminus. They were able to force the demons into revealing what they were in combat, while maintaining their own secret. Once the Lords of Gideon learned that their soldiers were being augmented by hordes form the Abyss, they turned on the Emperor. The Black Dragon was so blinded with power, he hadn't even considered that his own vassals would question him. House Byron was the first to change sides, and soon Gideon was in the midst of a civil war (with House Drake, Thorne, and Crawford remaining loyal to the crown). Around 324 AF, a party of adventurers stormed the castle and slew the Black Knight of Gideon, who was said to have now gone completely mad with the influence of the Abyss. They found most of the inhabitants of the castle butchered savagely, including Dannis' wife, his cousin Rhea, and Alarik's two other daughters. Despite a decree of mercy from the adventurers and House Byron, who had taken charge during the interim, the common folk uprooted all remaining LeMorts from their holdfast in Silverfell and hung them publicly in the square as a form of protest against the war. It is said that none escaped. The only legacy that remained from Dannis LeMort's ambitions, as well as the Brighton line, was "the Curse of the Dragon". ---- The Curse of the Dragon In one fell swoop, the Black Dragon had ended a beloved noble household older than the country itself. Along with House Brighton and House LeMort, there was only one other house whose members were completely extinguished during the war. That was House Theseus of Taurhorne. House Theseus had taken a bronze dragon as their crest, and as such, a rumor quickly spread among the common folk that it was the hubris associated with taking a dragon as your families symbol that would lead one to causing such a foolish war. From here on out it is said by the Bard Colleges throughout Siladia that using a dragon as a symbol would bring about a terrible curse.